


Twitter, Do Your Thing

by mariuspunmercy



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Annabeth Chase & Thalia Grace Friendship, College, F/M, Grover (Percy Jackson) is a Good Friend, Inspired by Twitter, Percy is a Dork, Reunions, Social Media, Texting, Twitter, YouTube, be prepared, gen z language is used a lot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:40:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25220287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mariuspunmercy/pseuds/mariuspunmercy
Summary: When Percy reaches 10 million subscribers, he takes a little trip down memory lane and talks about his old high school crush.Twitter, being the detectives they are, decide to try and reunite Percy with the mystery girl he misses so much.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Comments: 14
Kudos: 222





	Twitter, Do Your Thing

**Author's Note:**

> Never forget that Twitter is RUTHLESS and can literally find anyone or anything

“And for ten million subscribers, I will be torturing myself by looking through my old high school yearbook!” 

Percy grinned at the camera, holding the glossy book for all to see. The cover was the adventure book from Up with Goode High imprinted underneath the colorful text. It’s been honest to god _years_ since he’s looked through the thing, but nothing seemed more monumental than to celebrate one milestone with another. 

“This is my senior year book, by the way. Don’t think I’m going to be showing you guys freshman Percy that wanted to be a baseball player but couldn’t catch infield or out. The swim team always fit me better, anyways.” 

He set the book on his table, focusing his second camera on the yearbook. “Is this thing on…?” He asked himself as he adjusted it to get the whole book in the frame. “Well, I think it’s working so we’re gonna go with yes.” 

Flipping open the first page, he groaned at seeing the huge collection of signatures. There were various phone numbers and Instagram handles that he’d have to blur out in editing. “Wow, so I can’t show you most of this page. But these are the peeps I graduated with. I’m not in contact with most of them, so that kind of sucks.” 

His fingers ran over the signatures. There was one in particular he looked for, but he couldn’t find her name on the page. He cleared his throat, turning the page to the official title with a collage of students. 

“Look, it’s Grover!” He pointed out his best friend that made surprise appearances in his videos. Grover was holding a first aid kit in the collage, grinning wide. “He was in the medical club. He tried getting me to join one time. I went to one meeting and left when they started performing CPR on a doll.” 

He scanned the collage for any more of his friends. He pointed to a blonde boy that was holding a paintbrush. “That’s Jason. He was our class president and the golden boy of our class. He was a really cool dude. I wish we kept contact, but becoming the youngest mayor of a small city here in New York might make you a little too busy for old high school friends.” 

Percy sighed, Jason’s memory bringing up other ones. “His sister was a grade above us, but she was best friends with my best friend. Not Grover, but my _other_ one. We’ll find her right now, I’ll point her out.” 

He took one more second to scan the collage. He could hardly believe the school hadn’t bothered putting her on it. She did contribute a lot to the school, such as her designs for a new theatre and how she was valedictorian, and made it into Cal State Berkeley on a full ride scholarship. 

“Oh, look, it’s Nico! He was a sophomore, but the coolest underclassman I knew,” Percy said, pointing to the picture of a pale boy laughing. “I actually talked to him recently. He’s doing pretty good. Good for him.” 

He glanced over that page once more before going to the page where all the teachers were listed. He chuckled as his stepdad was smiling happily in his picture. “That’s my stepdad. He was never my teacher because he taught AP history, but a couple of my friends had him. They all adored him. I mean, how can you not? He’s great!” 

Seeing as that was the only teacher at Goode he liked, he skipped to the page dedicated to the swim team. Percy was happy to highlight the photo of him in his speedo, and the one with his letterman jacket. “Look! It’s me! Wow, I forgot how awful I looked in that thing. But I was captain of the varsity team during senior year, so I had no choice but to pretend I liked it.”

When the last meet was over, he remembered grabbing his speedo and throwing it down the drain, turning on the garbage disposal and watching it rip in the sink. 

It was beautiful. 

“I know what everyone’s waiting for..” He took a second to build up the anticipation before flipping to the senior class portraits. “Our actual pictures! The ones that haunted us on our school I.D. 's every single day for a year.”

The first page of his class had a blond girl smiling with the look he didn’t forget even in his senior year of college. Her pearly white teeth and unruly curly hair looked just like he remembered, despite the years of no contact. “And here’s my high school crush, ladies and gentlemen.” 

He gladly pointed to her picture. “That is my other best friend, Annabeth. Me, her, and Grover dominated the halls of Goode. Or at least that’s what we thought. I met her in sixth grade, and we were inseparable. But we got into this huge argument before she left for college in California, and we never spoke again. She went to all of my swim meets, and I supported every one of her protests against the shitty principal. We were always there for each other, whether it be a math test or a breakdown at four in the morning. Dunno, after everything… The seven years of friendship meant the world to me but seeing as we haven’t talked in four years, I doubt she feels the same. It’s not her fault though. I’m the one that messed things up, she’s just looking out for herself. I can’t blame her for what happened anymore.”

Percy took a long sigh. That was _way_ too heavy for a light hearted celebration for ten million subscribers. But he hadn’t talked to anyone besides Grover about Annabeth in all these years, so he kinda just let it all out. It’s fine, he’s sure his small rant will go over everyone’s head. 

“Anyways, wow that escalated. Grover is going to come at me for spilling this on you guys. But I really do miss her, and I wish we could just sort things out. She was my best friend, after all. So Annabeth, if you’re out there, just know I’m here and waiting silently.” 

He chuckled, shaking his head. He turned the page quickly, trying not to let their argument flood back into his head. It was a stupid one where he let his insecurities get the better of him.

Annabeth had planned on going to NYU with him, but her plans changed when she got accepted into Cal State Berkeley. Their plans since sixth grade were suddenly thwarted, and he was upset and angry that he’d be going to college alone. He took it out on her, and she ended up moving across the country without a goodbye.

Percy didn’t realize how badly he fucked up until she was gone and Grover was leaving for the University of New Mexico. Sure, he transferred to NYU during junior year so at least they were roommates now. But it’s been radio silence from Annabeth. 

He pointed to his senior portrait next, deciding that he wouldn’t let the past make him moody for the rest of the video. He could sulk during editing later. 

* * *

Percy opened the livestream with a huge smile. 

“Hey guys, Seaweed Brain here with my amazing friend, Grover Underwood!”

Grover hopped into the frame, smiling just as big. “Hey people! While you’re here and can actively chat with us, please get this boy to study for his math test. He still hasn’t learned any of his formulas and he really should.” 

“You don’t even need math for marine biology!” 

“I think you do-”

“Besides, it’s not like math is super easy for me. I don’t have my regular tutor right now.”

Grover stared at him weirdly. “Yeah… It’s been years since you’ve had your regular tutor. Are you good, man? You’ve never talked about Annabeth on camera and all of a sudden she’s back.” 

Percy rolled his eyes to the camera. “Can you believe this guy? Bringing up our old best friend and stuff? As if she ever talks about us anymore, pfft.” 

Grover opened his mouth and closed it again, blinking before finally choosing to talk. “Dude, I think you miss her.” 

“Duh, of course. Do you not?” 

“I never said that.” 

Percy looked at his opened computer to check out the chat, where just about everyone was firing a million questions an hour. He laughed at the speeding chat, but did manage to catch a few of the questions. 

_RyanBlazer72: why haven’t you guys tried talking to her??_

“Great question!” 

“I’ll answer that,” Grover said before Percy could. “She was never mad at me, just so you guys know. That argument was solely between her and Percy. But she changed her number and blocked him on all social media. I kept up with her for our freshman year of college, but we eventually just stopped talking too.”

Percy knew that Grover had kept contact while he was left in the dust, and he never minded. But hearing it spoken out loud had done some things to replenish some of his lingering anger. “Just because she ignored me doesn’t mean she blocked me. She might’ve just removed me as a follower and unfollowed me.” 

Grover gave him a look that was clearly telling him to calm down. Percy sighed, thankful he still had at least one best friend by his side. 

“Sorry guys. I’m not kidding when I say I haven’t even _talked_ about her in years. I guess there’s just some leftover feelings.” When he realized his poor choice of words, he gaped at the camera. “Wait, that’s not what I meant. Yeah, I was in love the same way any high school boy would be with any pretty girl they spent every day with. It’s just… You can’t blame me for still being sensitive about it.” 

_NoreenArtino: you really miss this annabeth huh_

Percy laughed at the comment. “Yeah, of course. Grover does too. The three of us were inseparable. But then she left. And we stayed.” Grover bumped his shoulder, shaking him out of an incoming rant. “You’re right, you’re right. Someone should show her my channel so she sees how good I’m doing. I’ve got ten million of you, and none of her!” 

Grover smacked his forehead. 

_Jparker: simp. this girl living in your head rent free_

“Oh yeah, he’s been a simp since sixth grade!” Grover slapped his knee as if he told a funny joke. “One time, he snuck out of a swim meet because she was home alone with the flu. And let’s not forget about what happened junior prom-” 

Percy shoved his friend before he could finish that story. He felt his own blush rising, laughing uncomfortably. “What we’re _not_ going to do is relive junior prom. That day was an absolute mess and I prefer to forget it.” 

He’d rather not have to tell his subscribers about how he ditched his prom date, Calypso, because Annabeth’s date forgot to get her a corsage so he went to the park, picked her flowers, and made her one he delivered to her himself. Needless to say, Calypso and Annabeth’s date were not happy with him.

_AndysComing: what about the mayor friend and them what happened to them_

Grover sighed sadly. “Jason’s sister was childhood friends with me and Annabeth, and this other guy but I’m not getting into that one. Thalia, as Percy said in his video, was a grade above us, but she loved Annabeth like a little sister. When the argument happened, she got mad that I stayed friends with Percy instead of standing by Annabeth, so she dropped both of us. Last I heard, her and her brother are both doing pretty well. Mayor has been treating Jason good.”

_Victoriandinosaur: if you guys were to see annabeth again, what would you say??_

“Well, I’d see her and hug her like no tomorrow,” Grover responded. “Fun fact, she was my friend before his, but he got a… different kind of attachment to her. I adore her, and after hugging her, I’ll probably yell at her for leaving us behind and not trying to talk to us again.”

“But I’m sure we’re never going to see her ever again, so we don’t have to worry about that,” Percy dismissed. “If I did see her though, I’d apologize. I’m the one who started the argument. I said a lot of things I don’t want to repeat, accused her of a lot for no reason. I have tried finding her again, but I’m blocked.” Grover gave him a look because of his earlier statement. “Fine, I admit I got blocked. I don’t blame her. I was a dick last time we talked…” He shrugged. 

_PipersNotCool: wait what does she look like_

“Uh… Blond?” 

Grover smacked him over the head. “He showed a picture in his yearbook video, though I don’t know why he did that.”

He raised his arms in defense. “What? It’s not like I doxxed her or anything. But yeah, she was blond last time I saw her. She might’ve dyed it, but she loved her blond hair so I doubt it. She has grey eyes, and she was pretty tall. But I was barely over five seven back then, so maybe I was just short.” 

_Backbiter: why’d you yell at her in the first place_

He sighed uncomfortably. “I don’t know. I was angry, and I took it out on her. I was insecure about a lot of things too that pertained to our friendship. I had this huge crush on her, and she would talk about one of her old friends a lot. It was just me being vulnerable, and I didn’t know how to handle it. She got stuck dealing with me, and that was that.”

_FrankZhang: would you see her again if you had the chance ?_

Percy scoffed. It wasn’t even up to debate. “Hell yeah! She was in our lives for seven years, of course I would. I think it’d be a good chance to hopefully finally recover, but she _did_ up and leave. For good reason, but that’s the problem. The reason. As eager as I would be to rekindle our friendship, I can’t imagine she would want to.” 

_SarcasticChorus: well you are doing pretty good without her._

“That’s the thing,” Grover said. “She was… like a part of us. She didn’t walk out on my medical club meetings, for one. And she made sure Percy was always passing his classes with at least a solid B. Now, I can’t even get him to study for his final.”

“It’s marine biology! What do you need math for when I’m going to be hanging around all the fishes! But we both had dyslexia, so we could only ever study around each other. Grover has adapted to dealing with me, I will say. But we can be a mess without her, and that goes without saying.” 

_KarmaChameleon: for the 2 years i’ve been subbed, you’ve never talked about this girl and all of a sudden she’s all your talking about what the hell_

“Honestly, at this point, I doubt she even remembers we exist,” Percy muttered bitterly. “I just want to know why she didn’t try reaching out to us after she left. I want to know what I said back in high school that hurt her so bad that she never followed up on us. Seven years of friendship was destroyed in twenty minutes by me.”

Grover let out a dry chuckle. “You miss her.” 

It wasn’t the joking ‘missing Annabeth’ jokes they had been making. Percy smiled back, forgetting there was a camera capturing every moment. “Yeah, I guess I do.”

* * *

Annabeth sighed as the overhead announcement sounded over the gate. 

“Flight one seventeen, from San Francisco to New York, has been delayed for two hours. Please stand by.”

She seriously wanted to punch the fucking lady with the sickignly sweet voice. She set out to dial the first number in her favorite contacts, raising her phone to her ear as she waited for her best friend to answer. 

“Hey, aren’t you supposed to turn your phone off during flights? I mean, I love that you’re willing to risk all the passengers’ lives for me, but that also means your life,” Thalia said. 

She groaned at the reminder that she was supposed to be on the plane right now. “The stupid thing got delayed. I’m stuck at the gate for another two hours.”

Thalia laughed at her misery. “Piper’s at the airport too, isn’t she? Can’t you hang out with her during the delay?”

“I _could_ if Piper’s plane didn’t leave six hours ago.” She drew her knees to her chest, tugging her two carry on bags close to her. The gate was packed with angry people upset at the delay, so better to keep an eye on her stuff. Piper got to breeze through security since literally _no one_ was going to the JFK airport at three in the morning to visit their mom. “Besides, I don’t want the plane to miraculously get here and I miss my flight.” 

“Miss early graduate can’t pay for another flight? I couldn’t imagine.” 

Annabeth rolled her eyes. She had taken college courses during high school, and in turn, she was able to graduate from Berkley during senior year in April with the other early graduates. She was moving back to New York with three suitcases, two carry-on bags, and to Thalia’s apartment in Queens. It’s been a while since she’s seen the city, but she’s more excited to see her friend, who was basically an older sister.

Sure, she had a tearful goodbye with Frank and Hazel, two juniors she’d made good friends with, but they also had plans to come to New York after senior year. Piper was also planning on following her, only making a quick pit stop to visit her mom. She’d be united with all her friends in a years’ time. 

The two hour delay suddenly didn’t feel as bad.

“I’d have my mom venmo me money in case I were to actually miss my flight, but Piper’s not here.” Annabeth noticed the middle aged mom arguing with a man to give up his seat to let her sit. She sighed into the phone. “I’ve gotta go. Some Karen is about to beat up this dude and I want to see it.”

“Oh, before you go, you have to do something really important for me,” Thalia said before she hung up.

“Sure, what is it?”

But then her phone pinged with a notification from Twitter.

Annabeth ignored it, waiting for Thalia to start talking. She got another notification, then another, and another. Thalia spoke, but she couldn’t hear anything over the pinging. The only reason she left her notifications on was because she _didn’t_ get a lot. She was starting to get real annoyed real fast. 

“I can’t hear you, my shit’s going off from Twitter. But I’ll call you when I land.” Annabeth heard Thalia shout something, but she still couldn’t hear it. 

Instead, she ended the call and checked to see what all the noise was about. 

She opened the app to click on the bell icon to see who was blowing her up. She nearly dropped her phone when she saw it wasn’t just a someone, but many people. They were all tagging her in someone’s replies, so she clicked on the original tweet to see what it was about. 

_@Victoriandinosaur: twitter do your thing. if your name is annabeth and you look like this please unblock percy jackson he misses you_

She really did drop her phone when she saw her senior portrait. 

Annabeth leaned down in her seat to pick it up from the ground, staring at the replies of the post. Most notably, she saw Piper was the first one to reply. 

_@PipersNotCool: @annabethchase c’mon girl text your damn friend_

The reply had over three thousand retweets, and even more likes. Everyone else in the replies were tagging her, egging her to also text Percy. A couple of people even tagged his handle, but her thumb hovered over the username. 

That’s someone she hasn’t talked to in _years._

When she got to Berkley and made her new friends (while reuniting with old ones), she’d told them about her high school friend who screamed at her for daring to go to another university. She mentioned a couple of times that she missed him, but never enough to go on a full fledged Twitter manhunt. 

She went to her timeline to see Frank had posted a video clip. He tagged her and Percy in the tweet. She dug her headphones out of her backpack, plugging them in to watch it. 

“We were always there for each other, whether it be a math test or a breakdown at four in the morning. Dunno, after everything… The seven years of friendship meant the world to me but seeing as we haven’t talked in four years, I doubt she feels the same,” the Percy in the video said. 

The video itself was pointing to her senior portrait. She smiled at the way he still spoke of her, but she also wanted to throw her phone across the airport. If their friendship meant the world to him, why would he scream at her for going across the country? The only reason she cut him out of her life was because she thought _he_ didn’t feel the same. 

_@FrankZhang: @annabethchase you talk about @seaweedbrain sometimes and he’s talking about you… dunno, think it’s time to unblock him_

It is time… but she didn’t know if she could. She wasn’t mad about the argument anymore because she’s not that immature. But from the looks of it, half of Twitter was on the lookout for her. It was overwhelming to say the least. 

But then she looked closer at his username. He kept the same handle all these years, even when she changed hers from @wisegirl so he wouldn’t find her. It was still the nickname she’d given him from sixth grade. 

Annabeth went to her settings and to her blocked accounts, took one final glance at @seaweedbrain, and pressed unblock. 

* * *

Grover might as well have chucked his laptop at Percy.

Percy, who had been washing dishes, dropped the plate he was holding because of the laptop in his face. He glared at his roommate, crouching down to pick up the glass shards with his soapy hands. “If it’s another petition to shut down SeaWorld I’m not signing.” 

“Have you checked Twitter recently?” Grover asked, sitting on the floor next to him. 

“Not since this morning.” He gathered the glass in his hands, plopping it back onto the counter before finally facing his friend. “What is so important that you had to shove your computer in my face?” 

“So, you know how Twitter is known for having basically detectives that can find literally anyone, right?” When Percy didn’t respond, Grover kept going. “Well, you’re the next mystery they were trying to solve. Annabeth, specifically. It’s been all over my timeline since noon, and one of her friends tagged her in this one post, and it’s been everywhere since then. They _found her,_ Percy.” 

He grabbed the laptop from Grover to see it pulled up to her account. 

Percy scanned over every inch to see if it was really her. He saw her grinning profile picture in her Yankees cap, and no one else could wear it like she did.

_@annabethchase: i will be overthrowing the government for personal reasons_

He laughed at her bio, looking at Grover to confirm that this was real. That her profile was right in front of them. It was a bit disappointing that she had changed her username, but he couldn’t exactly blame her for that one. “So did she unblock you? What happened?”

Grover pointed to the laptop screen. “I was never blocked. She never unfollowed me and I never unfollowed her. We just never talked or liked each other’s things. It’s you that has to find out if you’re still blocked. But judging from her pinned tweet…” 

His attention focused back onto her account. He saw her other tweets that talked about the best Hunger Games movie or some rather passive aggressive statements about her English professor. There was a photo of her in a cap and gown that was captioned ‘New York’, but he tried not to think too much of it. 

_@annabethchase: i unblocked him stop bugging me_

Her pinned tweet had him stumbling over himself to stand up and race for his phone. He leaped over the couch, unplugging it from the outlet to shakily unlock it. He could hardly press his thumb to the home button, and it didn’t even recognize him first try. 

Grover took the phone and unlocked it with his own thumbprint. Oh, that’s right. That’s a thing he could do. 

Percy took the phone back into his hands, going straight to Twitter. He had 99+ notifications, like always, but he didn’t pay attention to any of them. He went to his timeline to see all the posts that people tagged him in. Posts that had her username solely for him to find. 

He clicked on the at and found that he could actually go onto her profile. Without even thinking about it, he pressed the follow button and went to the envelope icon to message her. His brain wasn’t working, instead every thought was focused on pushing out three words to her. 

_@seaweedbrain: im so sorry_

* * *

When Annabeth ran into his apartment, Percy didn’t look twice. 

“Percy!” She shouted, running through the kitchen first. She bid a greeting to his mom before racing up to his room, her phone in her hand and a bright smile on her face. He was sitting on his bed when she slammed his door open and leaped next to him. “Percy!”

He glanced up from his gov and econ textbook that she forced him to study to look at her. “Hey,” he welcomed, going back to his studying. 

She took the textbook from his hands and closed it. She almost never dragged him away from his homework, so this had to be something big. He gave her a lazy sigh, focusing on what she had to announce. “Okay, lay it on me. What’s happening?” 

Annabeth punched her passcode into her phone. She was too untrusting to save her fingerprint because of the FBI or whatever. She shoved it under his nose, showing him an email. 

“Uh… What is it?” He asked, taking the phone from her hand. He examined it more carefully, and his heart dropped when he read the first couple of words. 

“I got into Berkley!” She pumped her fist into the air, cheering and flopping onto her back next to him. She sat up when she saw his expression. “What’s wrong?” 

Percy knocked the phone back into her hands. “What about NYU?” 

Annabeth got a weird look on her face. “Oh… Yeah, Berkeley is kind of far. But like... it’s one of the best architecture schools out there. I _have_ to take this. I came here before I called my mom. I mean…” 

He refused to look at her, instead staring at the ground. He shook his head, her words flying in one ear and out the other. “No.”

She was taken aback, clutching her phone to her chest. “Excuse me?”

He finally met her eyes, seeing the confusion in them. Could she see the hurt in his? “You didn’t even tell me you applied for anything outside of New York. This is the first I’m hearing of it.”

“Okay?” She chuckled humorously as his feet dangled off his bed. She stood in front of him, trying to asses control of the conversation. “It was just a throwaway application because it was free and I didn’t think I’d get in anyways. I don’t have to tell you about every single school I apply to, by the way.” 

He scoffed. “And now that throwaway has become your first choice? You’re just gonna accept it? What, are me and Grover throwaways too?” 

Annabeth looked hurt now. “What the hell are you talking about? Grover’s leaving for New Mexico. I never even said I was going to accept it. Percy, I came here before even telling my mom. My dad lives in San Francisco and I haven’t told him anything yet. Why are you getting so mad at me?”

Truthfully, he doesn’t have an answer for her. He didn’t want her to leave. He has two _solid_ friends in his life. Why does she want to go? Isn’t he enough for her to stay? Isn’t Grover? He still has important stuff to tell her! She can’t go before he gets the chance. She can’t go at all. He won’t let her leave him. 

“Because, Annabeth, look around!” He gestured to the apartment with the succulent _she_ bought him in the window. “This is where you belong! You can’t tell me you’d rather stay in California. You can’t go to California. You can’t.”

She glared at him. “Well, good thing you don’t make my decisions for me.”

“Maybe I should! Because if I did, you wouldn’t have even applied for Berkely in the first place! Annabeth, you can’t go. I can’t go to college alone! You can’t just leave us! No, you’re not going. You can’t.” 

“And why not? You don’t get a say in this!” 

“Oh, so now you’ve stopped including me in your shit! Well, Annabeth, get this. Maybe I don’t need you then! If you can apply to these fancy schools across the country without telling your friend of _seven years,_ then you must not want to be friends anymore! Sorry you don’t get to tell me yourself because I don’t want to be friends anymore either!”

As soon as Percy finished, he regretted everything. When he saw Annabeth’s eyes start to water, he reached out for her, but she backed away from him. She wrapped her arms around herself, and he ran his hand through his hair. 

“Wait, I didn’t mean that. I-”

“I’ve only had three friends all my life. You weren’t _there_ in elementary school during my parents’ divorce. I only had Thalia, Grover, and Luke, one of which _moved away_ for middle school and the only way we keep up is through texting. Then I met you, and these seven years have meant the world to me.” Annabeth took a shaky breath before continuing. “But I guess you don’t feel the same.” 

“Annabeth, _please.”_

She shook her head, looking at him through tear filled eyes. “Luke goes to Berkley. I guess I’ll give him a call, since you don’t give me permission or whatever to go anywhere that’s not NYU.”

Right when he was starting to calm down, she hit him with that. 

He spent a lot of middle school (and half of high school) jealous of Luke. The Luke that Grover and Thalia were friends with before him. Luke, who Annabeth had a crush on for all it was worth while not looking at what was right next to her. He’s never even met the guy, but he hated him with a burning passion. 

A passion that did not need to return right now.

“This is about Luke, isn’t it?” 

Annabeth’s eyes grew wide when she realized the tangent he was about to go on. “No, it’s not. If you’re going to believe anything I say right now, it’s this: this has nothing to do with Luke. Don’t be ridiculous and get mad at _me_ for _your_ insecurities. You can be mad about going to NYU alone but you do _not_ get to take it out on me.”

His insecurities weren’t her fault, he knows. But in that moment, as she held back her tears and tried not to cry in front of him when crying in front of each other had never been a problem before, he completely forgot all logic. 

“I have nothing to do with this! It’s the fact that you first applied to this school without even mentioning it to me! You’re starting to get mad and I’m pretty sure you’re about to accept it without taking anyone into consideration! And now you’re gonna go with Luke? Oh, all mighty Luke! Go to Berkely and be friends with Luke instead! I don’t really care anymore! You made the decision to not be friends when you stopped confiding in me!” 

Annabeth shook her head, backing up into his door. “No, you chose not to be friends when you screamed at me for making my own choices.” 

She turned around with a sniffle and slammed his door. 

He chucked his succulent over the fire escape. 

* * *

Annabeth was sprawled out on Thalia’s couch preparing a memoir. 

A memoir in honor of her death. She was so dead. She’ll split her belongings between all of her friends. Hazel can keep her denim jacket. 

She’s been staring at the screen for fifteen minutes now. When she landed and Thalia saw her tweet, her friend disabled notifications on her phone and didn’t let her look at what else Twitter had to say about her. 

But at one in the morning, after a day filled with getting her settled, she couldn’t _not_ look. It seemed like she had the whole goddamn app waiting for her next move. Her direct messages were filled to the brim with strangers telling her about Percy, but when she scrolled down a little further, she saw the message from him. 

_@seaweedbrain: im so sorry_

After she unblocked him, she had taken the time to look through his account. She learned that he was a YouTuber with ten million subscribers, and he started talking about her in one of his videos. The situation had escalated from there, and she heard some rather… interesting things. 

But most of all, she was glad he was still friends with Grover. She’s known him, Thalia, and Luke since she was seven. Keeping up with Grover during freshman year hurt, and for her own well being, she had to let him go. She didn’t want to, of course, but she didn’t have a choice. It was that or never moving on from Percy. 

He was so mad for leaving him alone. She was ecstatic he held onto some of his old friends. If anything, she was the one who couldn’t let go. 

She talked to Jason on the regular, and introduced him to her friend Piper. They started dating, and the rest was history. Thalia was permanently in her corner, and Luke… 

Well, Luke was a junior when she started at Berkeley. Sure, when she was in eighth grade and he was a sophomore it was weird to have a crush on him. But college was different. So she tried something with him, but they mutually decided on staying friends. It worked out for everyone in the end. 

From the way Percy talked about her in his videos, she knows he wants to reconcile. He even said it. He hurt her, _bad._ She forgave him a long time ago, but she was a bit hesitant. 

So she stared at the unopened message. His first words to her were an apology, and hers should be forgiveness. Her thumb hovered over his icon before finally clicking on it, drumming out a reply. 

_@annabethchase: hey percy. it’s been a while._

His response came seconds later when she was scrolling through his account for the fifth time today. She still hasn’t followed him back. She contemplated it, but decided to read what he had to say first.

_@seaweedbrain: oh my god i didn’t think i was gonna get a response_

She remembered his nervous antics. It still charmed her.

_@annabethchase: so the entire internet is saying you miss me. have any idea what that’s about ?_

_@seaweedbrain: no clue_

_@seaweedbrain: oh jeez i was not prepared for this_

_@seaweedbrain: annabeth i really am sorry. i had no right to say everything i did. i shouldn’t have taken out my frustration on you. if you still hate me i understand but please just know im sorry. if you’re texting me to say goodbye i understand_

Annabeth’s eyes widened. That’s the last thing she wanted. Sure, they weren’t going to be the same people from all those years ago. They may never get back to that level, but it’s okay. He made the mistake of getting upset at her, and she never tried contacting him again. It wasn’t just his fault they fell apart. 

_@annabethchase: wait no_

_@annabethchase: no no_

_@annabethchase: that’s a big no no_

_@annabethchase: i let go of everything a couple years ago. i don’t want to fight anymore._

She saw a couple clips where he said he was doing good without her. He wasn’t wrong. He was more than successful, getting over a million views a video. The yearbook video alone had over twelve million, which is more views than subscribers. 

Percy was doing great without her, and she couldn’t be happier for him. He learned how to not be so codependent on her. She used to have to make him study and do homework, and even if in his live streams he struggled with it, he found something for himself to do. His frustration came from not having her around every single day anymore, but he’s moved past that. He isn’t resentful anymore because he stopped relying on her so much. 

No more hesitating. If he could overcome his problems, so could she.

_@seaweedbrain: me neither_

_@annabethchase: i actually landed in new york this afternoon_

_@seaweedbrain: so thats what your cap and gown picture was for??_

_@annabethchase: oh?_

_@seaweedbrain: uh_

_@seaweedbrain: well im dorming with grover off campus_

_@seaweedbrain: he transferred_

_@annabethchase: im staying with thalia while i find my own place_

_@seaweedbrain: i know this is a stretch but_

_@seaweedbrain: do you want my number instead??_

_@seaweedbrain: im just asking because im sure my cult has been harassing you_

_@annabethchase: 332-555-8902_

_@seaweedbrain: wow i wasn’t expecting you to send your number_

_@annabethchase: it’s about time we both grew up_

When she didn’t get a response, Annabeth sighed. She clicked onto his profile again, scrolling through his likes. She didn’t pay much attention to the blue check mark, instead focusing on how many tweets he liked about her. He retweeted Piper’s, as did she. Besides her pinned tweet, she hasn’t said a word on the situation. 

She nearly threw her phone across the living room when the unknown number called. 

Instead of blocking his number way back when, she simply changed it. Her dad had done it for her when she told him about the fight. She scrambled to accept the call. She wanted to hear his voice for herself instead of a video on Twitter. 

“Hello?” She said into the phone, a little nervous, a little excited. 

A loud chuckle responded. “Annabeth! Oh my god, it’s you! It’s actually you!” 

She laughed. His enthusiasm never changed. “Yeah, it’s me.” Her smile was creeping up on her, and Thalia was going to be majorly disappointed if she walked in to see her talking to Percy at one in the morning. 

“Do you have any idea how much I missed you?” He sounded happier than in his video. “You… It’s you! And you’re talking to me again! You were a huge part of my life one minute and the next you’re off the face of the earth. But you’re here now! Just… wow. Twitter did its thing.” 

She snickered into the receiver. “It really did, huh.”

“Now all that’s left is us meeting up, sorting through our problems, and hopefully you stay this time around.” He paused, then realized the depth of his words. “No, wait. I definitely didn’t mean it like that. I meant... “ He groaned. “Look, you were gone for a really long time. If I’m reuniting with my best friend, I don’t want it to be temporary.” 

“What? You think I want to hop on out when I have a permanent move to New York? You’re not getting rid of me that easy.” Considering when he managed to actually get rid of her last time, he had to scream for it to happen. It won’t work this time. 

“Are you free tomorrow? Can we meet up? But if you don’t want to, that’s fine. I was just wondering. Plus Grover’s here, and he’ll want to see you too. Oh, you should bring Thalia! Grover really misses her, and it would be good to clear the air between the four of us.” 

She grinned at his enthusiasm. “Well, I’m hanging out with her all tomorrow, and we have to pick our other friend up at the airport on Thursday before she makes a long drive. So… Friday?” 

“Friday works! Friday is fine. I’ll send you my address later.” 

Annabeth laughed. If she concentrated enough, she could see his puppy dog eyes lighting up. If they were anything like she remembered, Friday couldn’t come sooner. She yawned, the jetlag finally catching up to her. Even if she didn’t want to, she had to sleep if she wanted to function properly tomorrow. “Bye, Percy.”

“Bye, wise girl.” 

She didn’t move the phone from her ear for another five minutes. She hasn’t heard that nickname since she left New York. She hasn’t seen this boy since he forbade her from leaving for college. 

Her Twitter went off even after she disabled notifications, and she groaned. Then she realized Frank was sending her a tweet, and her notifications worked for people she followed back. She clicked on it, scanning the girl’s tweet before watching the attached video.

_@keeleeyevans: she’s living in his head RENT FREE @seaweedbrain_

“Yeah, I was in love the same way any high school boy would be with any pretty girl they spent every day with. It’s just… You can’t blame me for still being sensitive about it,” the video said, Percy speaking freely about her. 

Annabeth beamed. She went to his account, glanced at the ‘Follows You’ banner, and pressed the follow button.

* * *

Percy was sweating as he waited for the knock on his door. 

He wore his purple NYU hoodie, stuffing his hands into the pockets over and over again. He twitched his fingers and couldn’t even finish studying for his math test. He thought having two and a half days to prepare would’ve been enough, but it definitely was _not._ He was not prepared at all. He was going to go crazy. 

“Dude, I think you’ve lost it,” Grover said from the couch. “You could edit until they get here.” 

“Easy for you to be so calm about this. Thalia hates me, and Annabeth did too for a while,” Percy reminded. “I’m trying to win the both of them over here.” 

“Thalia was mad that I ‘took your side’. We’re both in the same boat here.” 

“How are you being so…” With his brain shut off, he couldn’t think of the right words, “relaxed about this? We haven’t seen them in person for years! Are you not terrified for your life?” 

“Oh, I’m out of my mind scared. But pacing up and down the living room isn’t going to do you any favors,” Grover pointed out. 

He was right. Percy knew being all scared and nervous was going to mess him up when the girls actually got to the apartment. But he couldn’t help it! He was going to explode if they didn’t get here in the next five seconds.

A knock at the door made him regret his previous wish. 

“Oh my god they’re here,” Percy whispered, frozen in his spot. 

“I’ll open the door.” 

“Yeah, you do that.” 

Percy stayed five feet away from the door. He watched tentatively as Grover strolled to the big block of death and unlocked it. “You didn’t check the peephole,” Percy scolded. 

Grover deadpanned as his hand settled on the doorknob, swinging open the door. 

Percy held his breath as it revealed the two girls. Thalia leaned against the wall in the hallway, now sporting an undercut. She had a denim jacket and combat boots that could stomp him to death if she really wanted to. 

Annabeth stared at them with wide eyes, the only thing separating them being the threshold. She smiled as Grover engulfed her in a tight hug. He whispered something to her that made her laugh, and she let him go so he could face Thalia. 

“Hey..” Grover said to her. 

Thalia shook her head. “Get over here, goat boy.” 

He relaxed instantly, pulling Thalia inside as he closed the door. The two of them engaged in a hug, leaving Percy and Annabeth staring as they watched each other from a distance. Grover and Thalia stepped away so the two could address the elephant in the room. 

“Annabeth, hi..” Percy greeted, taking a step toward her, but unrelenting to make the first move. 

Annabeth’s face broke out into a disarming smile as she walked over to him, not pausing as she wrapped her arms around his neck. 

Percy responded immediately. He crouched down a bit to throw his arms around her middle, pulling her as close as humanly possible. 

He sighed into her hair. “It has been way too long since you’ve done that.” He let go of her, disregarding Thalia and Grover engaging in their own conversation. “Look, I am so sorry. I know I’ve said it a lot, but no amount of apologies can make up for everything I said.”

She chuckled, which he was not expecting. "What you did wasn't okay. It did hurt for a while. But you've learned from it, and I know you won't do anything like it again. That's why I'm giving this another chance.” 

“I guess I just need to forgive myself.”

Her eyes crinkled. “Ten million subscribers can’t do that for you?” 

He groaned at the mention. “You just had to do me like that, didn’t you?” 

“Your ten million subscribers showed me that video where you said you liked me in high school, so yes I hold you to everything.” 

The embarrassment flooded through him as Grover snickered. “I never thought you were going to see it so I let myself say anything I wanted.” He rubbed at the back of his neck as the three laughed at him. “Yeah, very funny. A high school crush, how hilarious.” 

“I think it’s pretty funny,” Thalia chimed in. 

Annabeth slapped his arm. “I’m just surprised you managed to keep it from me for so long. When you liked Rachel and Calypso, _everyone_ knew.” 

Percy looked at her. He _really_ looked at her. She didn’t keep her hair up anymore, instead letting her blond shoulder length hair free of hair ties. She was taller, more mature. Her features were sharper, but her smile was still the same. 

“I don’t know how you didn’t figure it out yourself, wise girl.” 

* * *

“Stay out of the frame, and I’ll tell you when to move in,” Percy explained as he set up his livestream camera. 

Annabeth ran a hand through her hair. “Your subscribers are going to tear me apart. I’ve seen friends of YouTubers get torn apart in the comment section. They are going to hate me.” 

“What? No!” He got up from his bed, stepping away from the camera to wrap a comforting arm around her. He’s been hugging her way more since she got back. “They love you already! Why do you think everyone on Twitter suddenly became detectives? Or why my comments on YouTube _and_ Instagram all ask about you?” 

She put a hand on his chest, dislodging from the hug. “Because they wanna see me…” 

“Exactly! Maybe one day we’ll convince Thalia to go on camera, or even your friend Piper that first started tagging you. I mean, if she’s dating Jason, we could get him here too!”

Annabeth nodded, but doubt still lingered on her face. He didn’t want to force her on camera if she really didn’t want to. “Hey, if you’re uncomfortable, you don’t have to do this. I can just explain the situation, and it’ll be the same thing.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s fine. I’ve never had a problem being a public nuance, so this is fine.” 

He thought back to the time she stormed into Paul’s classroom because he accidentally marked one of her correct answers as wrong. “You’ll be fine. You got this.” 

With one last hug, he walked back to the camera. He had his laptop set up right next to it so they could read the chat, which was going to go _insane_ as soon as they saw her. He counted down out loud from five before pressing record, thousands of people joining his weekly Monday livestream. 

“Hey guys! Seaweed brain here! I just want to start off by saying… I’ve had an amazing weekend because of you little detectives,” Percy said, the flow and charisma coming easily to him. 

Instantly, the chat was filled with comments about Annabeth, but he wanted to put it off for a moment more. “Oh, you guys have it twisted. There was nothing cool, nothing too special. I mean, obviously. Grover is the most special person in my life.” 

A phone from out of the frame came flying at him. He allowed it to hit him in the shoulder, laughing at Annabeth’s antics. He picked it up, making sure everyone could see the cherry Wildflower case. “Ouch! You just committed a murder in front of thousands!” 

_Plutoisaplanet: what was that_

_OneDirectionOrNoDirection: there’s someone else there with him_

_KittyySection: omg guys i think we did it_

_Eleveneleven: who threw that fucking phone_

Percy rolled his eyes playfully. “I’m surprised you don’t know who it is. After all, you guys did track her down and get her to unblock me after four years.” 

_Flappyjacks: omg omg omg its her_

“Okay wise girl, time to get in here.” 

Annabeth approached him, hesitating for a second. He leaned over, grabbing her wrist and pulling her into the camera’s view. She tumbled onto the bed next to him as he threw an arm around her shoulders, showing her off for everyone. 

“Guys, meet Annabeth Chase, my best friend through all of middle and high school. My rock, and finally here again after all these years,” Percy introduced, watching the chat talk so fast he couldn’t catch anyone’s comment. 

“You forgot high school crush,” Annabeth added, moving a strand of hair behind her ear. 

He groaned. “I didn’t think you were ever going to see it! If I’d known Twitter was going to blow up I would’ve been more careful about my wording. Thalia won’t leave me alone because of it.” 

_Dynamite73: how did this happen omg_

“I’ll let her explain this one…” 

Annabeth read the question before saying, “Well, it has been four years since our argument-”

“That was one hundred percent my fault.”

“-and I forgave him a while ago. But… I dunno. I guess seeing the way he could still talk positively about me even after I left made me realize it was stupid to keep him blocked. The first thing he did was apologize, and since I graduated early and I’m living in New York now, we decided to meet up. That brings us to now, reunited and forgiven for something the both of us caused. It was both of us, don’t let him convince you otherwise.” 

Percy grinned. “Yeah, it’s been pretty great having her here. She’s been coming around everyday since Friday, and it’s thanks to you guys.” 

_Therealhamilham: if u guys were so close whyd u break up_

“We never dated. We just… friendship broke up.” Smooth, Percy. “I said some pretty nasty things, and accused her of stuff I shouldn’t have. Everything went to my head.”

“Four years is a long time to have someone blocked, and we probably could’ve made up years ago if I wasn’t the way I am,” Annabeth chirped in. “Not completely his fault.” 

“Stop trying to one up me! How are you still like this?” 

“Our best qualities don’t change.” 

_Addysommer: percy you sure that crush stayed in high school_

“Guys, even on the weekends, we pretty much spent every hour of every day together. You can’t expect me to _not_ like her. Besides…” A realization fell down upon him. “Wait, I actually don’t know if you’re single or not.”

If answering the question in front of thousands of people bothered her, she didn’t show it. “I am, yeah. Dated one person but we’re just friends now.” 

He hasn’t dated anyone _ever._ He had a crush on a girl named Rachel, but she ended up liking girls so that went south. Funny enough, she dated his other crush, Calypso. It’s not even that Annabeth ruined other girls for him. He just never got around to dating anyone. 

“Lucky, the only person I’ve even looked at was Grover.” 

“Aww, lucky indeed.”

_Ppardor: if she’s single….. and so is he…… then……._

Percy diminished the thought quickly when his own mind started wandering. “Guys, we _just_ rekindled our friendship after a big fight. Dating is out of the question.” 

Annabeth grabbed a pillow and hit him smack across the face. “Damn, didn’t know I was _that_ horrendous.” 

“Girls _are_ horrendous. That’s why I can’t date any of you. Even Thalia tries to bite my head off, and I didn’t even do anything to her. Plus, your favorite song isn’t Viva La Vida.” He turned to the camera to make his bold statement. “Boys, if her favorite song isn’t Viva La Vida, she’s not the one.” 

The pillow made contact with his face again. He laughed, taking it from her and throwing it off screen. She pouted, something she used to always do when she wanted things to go her way. He sighed, standing to grab the pillow. He tossed it back to her with more than enough force, her laughter filling the room. 

_NaviHeyListen: you guys are perfect for each other, platonic or not_

“We’re seaweed brain and wise girl! Of course we’re perfect!” Percy slung his arm around her shoulder, digging his other hand into her scalp to give her a noogie. She yelled something incoherent as he continued pressing his knuckles on her head. “See guys!” 

_GroverUnderwood: not after that_

“Grover!” 

* * *

“Canned spaghetti is not a gourmet meal. I don’t care how many times you’ve done it.” 

Percy shook his head at Annabeth’s understatement. “After one whole month, I still haven’t made you my famous spaghetti and that’s a shame.” 

Four weeks since the reunion between best friends, and everyone could tell it’s been amazing for both of them. Even Thalia agreed, though she was a bit more hesitant than Annabeth to forgive him. 

Grover always talked about how much happier they looked now that they’ve reconciled, and there’s been a ton of tweets and Instagram edits of them two. The subscribers have taken a liking of her, and Percy couldn’t be more grateful. They love her, and while their approval wouldn’t change his opinion, it was nice to have it. 

“We’ve gotten take out whenever me and Thalia stay for dinner, so I guess this is an upgrade,” Annabeth said as her finger trimmed the rim of her cup. “And if I’m going to be stuck here for a week, I better get used to this.” 

Annabeth’s friend, Piper, who also happened to be Jason’s girlfriend, had told the four of them to go visit. Percy already promised his mom he’d go see her on Friday, so he told Grover and Thalia on Sunday evening to go ahead and he’ll catch up. Annabeth had opted to stay with him, and they’ll make the four hour drive to meet everyone Saturday night. 

As Monday rolled around and Annabeth (having decided to stay at his place until Thalia gets back) was ready for dinner, he made his college student specialty: spaghetti. 

Grover had figured it out with his professors and was able to leave for the week, but Percy was not. He plopped himself into a chair, disappointed with his professors. 

“It's nice to sit down, just the two of us,” Annabeth pointed out. 

For the majority of the past month, Grover and Thalia were either hanging around them, or completely disappeared at times. “It’s a nice refresher,” he replied as he forked spaghetti into his mouth. 

“Do you and Grover usually sit down together to eat?” 

He suppressed a chuckle. “No, actually. Most of the time, I just eat while editing. Grover can be studying and having cereal at the same time, but I don’t know how he does it.” 

“That’s one too many things going on at once.” 

He hummed in agreement. The last time he sat down to eat with her was over a school lunch senior year. “What about you and Thalia? Ever sit down to do anything?” 

“Well when she’d come to Cali to visit, her, me, and Luke would go to the dining hall and…” She trailed off when he froze. 

He’d forgotten about Luke. He hasn’t thought about him in years, not since Annabeth resurfaced. It brought up a whole new thing they’d never addressed: everything he said about Luke. 

He let go of Luke a long time ago. He didn’t feel like all his friends were going to leave him anymore. He knows he means something to people now, and Luke isn’t going to get in the way of that anymore. 

“How is Luke?” Percy asked. “Grover hasn’t talked to him in a while, and he probably misses him too.” 

Annabeth seemed relieved to see he wasn’t angry. “When he saw the social media craze, he joined one of your livestreams to hear what you had to say. He said he was happy with the change, and could see how you genuinely wanted to fix this friendship. Of course, that was after we agreed to meet up, but he wouldn’t have had anything to do with this anyways.” 

He reached across the table to put his hand over hers. She almost dropped her fork when he shook his head. “Annabeth, I don’t have a problem with Luke anymore.” 

She smiled at him. “Thank you.” She twirled her spaghetti around her fork, her eyes crinkling as she ate. “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to hear that.”

“You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting to say it.” 

She opened her mouth to say something, but her hair fell into her spaghetti. The red sauce got all over her blond hair as she got up from the table to the sink. 

Percy laughed in his chair as the water sprayed everywhere. 

* * *

_@seaweedbrain: @annabethchase i lost my phone can you call it_

_@annabethchase replying to @seaweedbrain: how are you tweeting ?_

_@seaweedbrain replying to @annabethchase: laptop_

_@annabethchase replying to @seaweedbrain: just dm me_

_@seaweedbrain replying to @annabethchase: yeah but it’s so much funner when you’re quote tweeting everything_

_@annabethchase replying to @seaweedbrain: i leave the apartment for one second to get your cereal and it seems you’re having a twitter breakdown_

_@seaweedbrain replying to @annabethchase: i have one every other day you’re not special_

_@annabethchase replying to @seaweedbrain: im not calling your phone_

_@seaweedbrain replying to @annabethchase: wait please come back_

_@seaweedbrain: update she’s now home but won’t help me :(_

* * *

Thursday night, around three in the morning, he was up studying for his oceanography final when she walked in, clutching her phone to her chest with an exhausted look. Within the month she’s been here, he’s seen her stay up until six in the morning then wake up just fine at nine. Her tiredness wasn’t coming from lack of sleep. 

“What happened?” He asked, looking up from his textbook. 

She sighed, sitting on the edge of his desk. He moved his book to make room for her. “Thalia just called. She forgot her license, and they got pulled over when she was driving. They got a ticket, but now they’re stuck paying it off there. It sucks, but she said to wait until Sunday to start driving out just in case.” 

“How did Thalia forget her license?” 

“I don’t know, but Grover’s already figured everything out with his teachers so he’s fine.”

He relaxed a bit, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “Okay, so we’ll be there a day late. That’s fine.” 

She nodded, bringing her legs up to sit criss cross. “How’s studying going? You seemed pretty burned out right now.” 

He shut his textbook, leaning back on his chair to look up at her. “I’m on my way to becoming a marine biologist, so it’s going to be worth it in the end.” 

She gave him a look. “You didn’t answer my question.”

He forgot that even with time apart, she could still read him perfectly. “I feel like shit, but I’ve gotta push through. YouTube isn’t gonna last forever, and I’m not working an actual job.” 

“Ten million people watching ads at the beginning and end of every video might support you for a while as you find your way in the marine biology world.” 

His fingers traced the spine of the textbook. “Can I really do this? Can I really become a marine biologist?” 

She leaned down, putting her hands on his cheeks and squishing them together. “You’ve been dreaming this up as long as I’ve known you. You’re going to make it through this.” 

He smiled gratefully at her. “Thanks. You don’t know how badly I needed that.” 

She let go of him, thumping his shoulder with her foot. He noticed her penguin socks. “Now, go rest up. You’re seeing your mom tomorrow and I’m sure she’d kill you if she saw dark circles under your eyes.” 

He smirked. “I could blame it on you and say you kept me up.” 

She blushed when his implications flustered her. “I am an angel. Sally loves me, so that won’t be happening.” 

He paused. For the week they’d been alone, he’s been working up the courage to ask. “Do you want to come with me? My mom’s already been asking about you and she probably wants to catch up.” 

Her eyes softened as she nodded. He watched the way she moved so freely. She was so comfortable around him now. He was the same, relaxed from the stress of social media and school when she’s with him. 

At some point, he wouldn’t have wanted to see her because he was scared of how badly he’d hurt her. In this moment, right here, he had the same feeling in his chest as he did way back when they were kids with no concept of how people work. But as a twenty two year old student reunited with his old high school crush as she sits on his desk after having spent the time to regrow and get accustomed to each other, he realizes he didn’t leave his feelings in high school like he’d believed. 

_Shit._

* * *

“My mom is so excited to see you,” Percy said as they waited outside Sally’s door.

Annabeth chuckled, folding her arms against her chest. She had a flannel with blue jeans to not be so casual, but also not dressed to the nines. She was just right and matched well with his burgundy shirt and dark pants. 

“I’m just as ecstatic,” Annabeth replied as they waited for the door to open. “It’s just… It’s been so long. What do we even talk about?” 

“I will take over if you really can’t, but I’m sure you guys will get along fine. If you and I can make up, you guys are _more_ than fine. You should’ve heard the speech she gave me about respect when we got into the argument-”

“Annabeth!” 

The door swung open to reveal his middle aged mom boring the biggest smile he’s ever seen. If he didn’t know any better, he would’ve thought her son was just being born. It made him just as happy to see her get so excited. 

“Sally, hi!” Annabeth greeted, but his mom pulled her into a hug. Annabeth didn’t even stumble, letting herself get swallowed up by the woman’s embrace. 

Percy stood politely to the side as they both talked a million miles an hour. She led them inside and sat them at the table, pulling something out of the oven. He didn’t care that it looked gross and churned on the edges. He might’ve burnt the bridge a long time ago, but he still managed to find a way across and make amends. 

“What have you two been up to lately?” Sally asked as she spooned chicken onto their plate. 

“We’ve been hanging out a lot,” Percy responded. “A month can do a lot for people. Plus, Grover and Thalia have been upstate visiting an old friend. We were gonna make the drive out tomorrow, but they got into a little bit of trouble. We’re waiting until Sunday to be on the safe side.” 

“It’s been great, though,” Annabeth continued. “We’ve been all over the place, and I’ve been in a couple of his videos. YouTube is fun, but I don’t think I’d ever consider it.” 

“It certainly isn’t for everyone,” Sally commented, digging into the burnt chicken. “I’m sure all his single subscribers are out for blood now that you’re dating and all that.” 

Percy froze halfway into cutting his food. “Oh, no we’re not-”

Annabeth snickered. “No, that’s not happening. Although apparently there was a crush in high school I never knew about.” 

He ducked his head as the girls started to tease him. He noticed Annabeth had a weird look on her face too. “You know what’s gold? The fact that Annabeth moved here from California!” 

Sally clapped her hands together, not acknowledging her previous mistake. “That’s amazing! You’ve always loved it in New York. We’re all glad you’re back. If you don’t mind me asking, where are you staying?” 

“I’m living with Thalia right now,” Annabeth said as she forked chicken into her mouth. “But I’ve been staying this past week with Percy because Thalia forgot to get me a key. You know, until I find any architecture firms that want to hire me and rent out an apartment.” 

“I’ve heard Mosbius Designs is looking for some people.” 

“Really? I’ll look there.” 

“Well, until you find work, my apartment is always open.” Percy didn’t want her leaving. She might have only been staying a week, but she’s been coming over every day for a month. He doesn’t want her to leave yet. “It’s always open with no intention of closing.” 

Sally gave him a knowing look. “How are finals going for the both of you?” 

“I actually graduated already,” Annabeth informed. “Early graduate from Berkely.” 

“Oh, that’s wonderful! I hope Percy isn’t too much of a bother since he’s doing all his study guides right now.” 

“No, never. He’s never been a bother.”

“If anything, she bothers me with studying,” Percy joked. “The amount of times she’s stuck a book under my nose when I’m trying to edit has got to be illegal.” 

“Marine biology is no joke,” Annabeth said as she waved her fork at him. 

“No, ma’am.” 

“So if you two aren’t together, do you mind me asking if you’re seeing anyone, Annabeth?” Sally asked. But he knew her nosy face; she perked her chin up and had a thin smile on her lips. 

“I dated my old friend, Luke, back during sophomore year. But we were too similar, and I haven’t met anyone since then.” 

The conversation also brought Percy’s attention back. “You and Luke?” 

She nodded. He wasn’t jealous of him anymore, but it was kind of weird to hear her talk about him still. Then it turns out now they’re _exes?_ Oh boy. That’s a weird one. “It didn’t last very long. Four months isn’t a lot.” 

He jabbed his fork into his poor chicken. “Yeah, I agree. I mean, I’ve never even had a girlfriend.” 

Her eyes widened. “What?” 

“Yeah. It’s not that I don’t want one, don’t get me wrong. But between school and YouTube so I can pay for school, I’ve been something of a mess in the dating game.” 

“You sure are telling the truth with _that_ one..” Sally mumbled. “He calls me after every date he has, and they are total _disasters._ There’s Nora, who wanted children after the first date. Then Tommi, who showed you her collection of vintage bowls which would’ve been sweet if they weren’t filled with used kitty litter. And _then_ there’s-” 

“Okay mom!” Percy interrupted. “I think we got it now.” 

“What else have you guys done in your time here?” 

Annabeth took a sip of her water. “It’s been a lot of hanging out at home. When we aren’t lounging around on the couch, we’re probably out taking a walk or going to the store. The Walmart trips have been nothing short of exciting.” 

“It’s not that hard to make Walmart trips fun,” Percy responded. “When we’re looking for cereal, we always end up in the toy aisle and shooting each other with Nerf guns. Grover records us sometimes, but honestly… It’s even better when it’s just us and there’s no camera rolling.”

“Oh, sweet kids..” Sally gushed. They finished their meal without a moment of silence, mostly because of his mom’s constant rambling. “Why don’t you guys check out the old room you used to hang out in? I’ll clean up here.” 

“Are you sure? I’m fine staying here and helping you,” Annabeth offered. 

But Sally dismissed her with a hand. “No, I’m okay here. You guys run along.” 

Percy shrugged, but stood and left his plate in the sink. Annabeth followed by example, mesmerized at the apartment she used to spend her long days in. Her fingers traced family photos that were still hanging; that she recognized from the last time she was here four years ago. 

He opened the door to his room and shut it behind him. 

Annabeth’s delicate hand took his, and she led him further into the room. The silence that filled his ears was terrifying, but it excited him. Spending their evenings in here was nothing new, but it was electrifying now as adults. Especially when one had newly discovered feelings for the other. 

“It looks exactly the same as it did four years ago..” Annabeth mumbled. She let go of his hand to examine his Star Wars posters he still had hanging on the walls. “You know I finally watched Star Wars?” 

Percy raised an eyebrow. “I could never get you to sit down and see it with me. Why the sudden change?” 

“The new one had come out in 2017, and Thalia met this girl who was obsessed with it. Like, even as far as watching the shows.” Percy decided not to tell her how amazing those shows had been. “She made me watch all of them with her, prequels until finally watching episode eight in theatres.” 

“Now do you admit you were harsh on me for making fun of Star Wars?”

She scoffed. “It’s still weird. Like, how do they understand Chewbacca? And how did Padme die of _sadness?_ Why did Anakin not die in episode three? Is Obi-Wan Rey’s dad? I have too many questions.” 

“Once I get you to cry over all seven seasons of Clone Wars with me, then you’ll understand the true pain a Star Wars fan experiences.” He stared at the poster of Luke Skywalker fighting Darth Vader with the Vader helmet in the background. Back when times were simple… 

“It’s been really crazy lately, hasn’t it?” She asked in a gentle voice. 

He nodded. “We’ve been all over the place. Here, there. We’re here now.” 

It started with finding each other a long time ago to getting lost at some point because of their differences. It took a YouTube video and Twitter detectives for them to find each other again. A little bit of reconciliation and newly discovered feelings after only a goddamn month. But he allows it because it’s _her_ and she always does this to him. 

“It’s always been kind of weird between us, hasn’t it..” 

Percy acknowledged that he heard her, but didn’t say anything. He continued looking out the window where his miniature succulent once sat before he threw it over the fire escape. Not the best decision in hindsight, but he was angry. 

He doesn’t think he could get that mad again if he tried.

“I know you get what I mean, Percy.” 

He whipped around to face her as she sat on the bed. She had an exasperated expression, folding her hands in her lap. “Don’t act like we haven’t had some weird moments since I got back.” 

His mind went back to all the moments _he_ counted as weird. Her coming over alone around ten when Grover wasn’t home and they watched the Hunger Games before he walked her home at midnight, not caring that he then had to walk by himself. 

Or when she was looking at apartments with him and they kind of paused and stared at each other before deciding that she didn’t like that one and continuing. The way she started washing some of the dishes as if it were her house despite being there only a month. 

“Does the time restart when we’re friends?” He blurted out. “Like, does this count as only a month of friendship? Or do we resume from where we left off?”

“Resume. Definitely resume.” 

“So we’re ten and a half years in the making, right?” 

“Right.” 

He twiddled his thumbs for a second before she groaned, throwing her hands up in the air. “Get over here already!” 

“Oh, thank god.” 

Percy surged toward her as she leaned up. He grabbed Annabeth’s face in his hands before quickly shutting his eyes and pressing her lips to his. He didn’t bother going slow, too tired of wasting time. Four years was long enough. 

Even though their noses bumped together and it was an awkward angle with her sitting and him standing between her knees, when he would look back and describe this kiss, he would call it perfect. 

They didn’t break apart to breathe as she pulled him onto the bed with her. Her chuckle was stifled by her mouth as he landed on top of her. But before he knew it, his grin was too big. He pulled away to wipe the stupid smile off his face when he noticed she mirrored his dopey expression. 

“Why did we wait ten and a half years to do that?” Annabeth asked. 

Percy shrugged, pecking her lips. “I don’t know, but let’s never do it again.” 

“Agreed.” 

They moved faster, his hands weaving into her hair as she clawed at his arms. The only times they would breathe would be when they were turning blue and about to pass out. But the dizzy feeling was something he welcomed, just as she let him put his entire weight on him. He took a good look at her, and started laughing when he came to a realization. When she gave him an equally confused stare, he had to calm down a bit before he could answer. 

“Just wait until Twitter finds out about this.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I got this idea from my friend who lost her cat, and put it on Twitter as a long shot, but someone on there had her cat so she literally found her cat. The power of Twitter, everyone. 
> 
> I also had this planned out up until the reunion. I had absolutely no clue what to do past that point and honestly idk how much I like everything here :(
> 
> Also something to note I was really emotional when I wrote their fight so I took out a lot of those emotions on them and continued doing so during editing so idk this whole thing is a mess slksnsnskala
> 
> BUT it's Annabeth's birthday so I wanted to post something and I had already written too much and I didn't wanna abandon this at 11k words so here it is :D
> 
> While you're here you should check out my other PJO story set in the star wars universe and takes you through the sequel trilogy but with Percabeth :D  
> 
> 
> Vibe with me on tumblr: hispanicpercy
> 
> Stay safe!!! <3


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